Dynamic collaboration in social networking environment

ABSTRACT

A method and system for facilitating collaboration between two groups without impairing or affecting the structure of the two groups is provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/902,219,filed on Oct. 12, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/251,187, filed on Oct. 13, 2009, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyrightor mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction byanyone of the patent document or patent disclosure, as it appears in thePatent Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all(copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to social networking. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to dynamic collaboration ina social networking environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Social networking sites, such as FACEBOOK, NING, and MYSPACE, do notallow two groups to collaborate in a manner similar to the way groupswould collaborate in a non-electronic manner. For instance, groupscannot enter into a distinct collaboration group without fundamentallymodifying the constituent groups. The existing paradigm for onlinecollaboration only creates a semblance of collaboration by simply addingusers of one group to another group. The result is merely an expansionof one or both groups rather than a focused collaboration that runsparallel to its constituent groups.

The current paradigm as described above exhibits several drawbacks:Problem 1—The addition of users from one group into the other merelyexpands membership of a group, but does not create a dedicated groupfocused on a particular collaboration. Problem 2—The addition of newusers to an existing group for the sake of a particular collaboration(rather than to be a part of the broader activities of that group)fundamentally alters and arguably dilutes the original group. Problem3—Adding outside parties to a group is often inappropriate where groupmembership in the online group is based on real world relationships. Forexample, a high school classroom would not allow individuals who are notpart of the real world class to join the virtual world classroom groupfor the sake of collaborating with them. Even two classrooms in the sameschool that want to collaborate on a project would most likely notchoose to simply become a single, larger class.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention recognizes and addresses some of the foregoingconsiderations, and others, of prior art construction and methods bygiving owners of user groups in social networking contexts the abilityto invite one another to create a distinct collaboration group thatexists outside of each of the constituent groups. In one embodiment, thesystem automatically adds the members of each group to the collaborationgroup and provides the ability for the owners of the underlying groupsto invite additional users to the group. Alternatively, the owners, nowco-owners of the newly created collaboration group, can invite or addmembers of their own constituent groups to the new collaboration group.The new collaboration group has a life of its own outside of the groupswhose owners and members founded and seeded it.

In this regard, one aspect of the present invention provides a systemand method for facilitating collaboration by a first group and a secondgroup comprising the steps of creating a collaboration group, where aprocessing device stores data representative of the collaboration groupin a memory operatively connected to the processing device; linking thefirst group to the collaboration group, where the processing devicesstores data in the memory representative of the link between the firstgroup and the collaboration group; linking the second group to thecollaboration group, where the processing device stores data in thememory representative of the link between the second group and thecollaboration group in the memory; and facilitating collaboration by thefirst and second groups, where a first structure of the first groupremains unchanged by the collaboration and a second structure of thesecond group remains unchanged by the collaboration.

Another aspect of the present invention recognizes that a group ownerrequires control over whether, at any given time, the owner's group ismade available to receive an invitation for a joint collaboration fromanother group owner. This aspect of the present invention furtherrecognizes that a group owner may be interested in collaborating on oneproject but not on another. Therefore, group owners have the ability toenable or disable the collaboration feature. If enabled, the group ownermay designate whether the group is interested in collaborating on anyproject or rather on any number of specific projects. These decisionsmay be made either at the time of group creation or subsequently throughthe Edit Group function, as described below. Changes to these settingsmade by the group owner do not affect any unanswered invitations sent orreceived prior to the change. That is, if the group owner receives aninvitation to collaborate on one day at which time the group isconfigured to accept collaboration invitations, the group owner mayaccept that invitation. The process then proceeds in the normal scenarioeven if the settings had been altered to make the group unavailable forcollaboration in the meantime. Additionally, a group owner's ability tosend a collaboration invitation to another group owner is not affectedby the own group's collaboration settings.

Once created, collaboration groups are groups similar to the constituentgroups of which each collaboration group is comprised, although usersmay see collaboration groups as a distinct group type. Recognizing this,one aspect of the present invention applies a distinct “collaborationgroup” group type to collaboration groups, thereby allowing the systemto display them in a distinct or separate list, rather than in acombined list of collaboration and non-collaboration groups. In aneffort to enhance the user experience, lists such as “My Groups” and “MyCollaboration Groups” can be placed on relevant web pages such as eachuser's home page.

Aside from the manner by which they are created, another key distinctionbetween collaboration groups and other groups is that onlinecollaboration groups may have a fixed duration—a defined endingpoint—similar in nature to non-online-enabled collaboration groups.While this may be a characteristic of all group types, it is moreprominent with collaboration groups. Therefore, collaboration groupco-owners possess the ability to set “active until” dates for thesegroups. When this date approaches, the system alerts the co-owners andprovides them with the opportunity to extend the date if desired.

Finally, collaboration groups, by their nature, may act as a collectionpoint, a container, for the artifacts of the collaboration. Forinstance, the collaboration group's blogs, wikis, forums, mediagalleries, etc. may be filled with images, videos, thoughts, producedwritten works, etc. that constitute the work product of thecollaborative effort. Furthermore, this work product may provide lastingvalue not only to the members of the collaboration group, but also to abroader community of users. As a result, an aspect of the presentinvention allows co-owners of the collaboration group to archive thecollaboration group in a read-only state once the collaboration hasfinished. The co-owners may then decide whether the archived read-onlyversion may be accessed by (a) the co-owners only, (b) the co-owners andmembers of the collaboration group, or (c) any user in the system.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendeddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially schematic diagram of a system for groupcollaboration in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary process for groupcollaboration in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIGS. 3 through 19 are displays of exemplary graphical user interfacesconfigured to facilitate the process of group collaboration illustratedby FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elementsof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred embodimentsof the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation ofthe invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variationscan be made in the present invention without departing from the scope orspirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncovers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

Collaboration between user-created groups in social networkingapplications has never been fully realized in a way that mimics the waygroups collaborate in the offline world. In the offline world, when twogroups collaborate, they do so within the context of a distinctcollaboration—that is, around an event or a project—and the life of thecollaboration is often shorter than the life of one or both constituentgroups. Each of the component groups continues to exist as a fixed,bounded entity with its own goals, activities, members, and leaders. Forexample, a group, such as the American Cancer Society, and a group, likethe Livestrong Foundation, may join in order to collaborate on an eventpromoting Men's Cancer Awareness Week. Leaders of each of these groupsare likely to act as leaders of the Cancer Awareness Week initiative,and members of each of the constituent organizations will fill in theranks of the collaboration. However, in this representative case outsidethe offline world, neither the American Cancer Society nor theLivestrong Foundation is forced to fundamentally alter its ownleadership, membership, focus, or activities—they exist unmolested andable to co-exist alongside the collaboration without being consumed byit.

Referring to FIG. 1, system 100 comprises at least one computer 102operatively connected to a server 104 via a wide area network (“WAN”)106, such as the Internet. Computer 102 comprises a processing device108 and memory 110. Likewise, server 104 comprises a processing device112 and memory 114. It should be understood that computer 102 and server104 may comprise additional components, including input devices such asa keyboard 116. Those of ordinary skill in the art should appreciatethat computer 102 may be replaced by a mobile device, such as a cellularphone or personal data assistant, comprising its own processing deviceand memory. It should be further understood that system 100 may compriseadditional components, such as one or more of computer 118.

Either of processing devices 108 and 112 may be a processor,microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, or other circuitry. Memory110 and 114 may be any type of memory or computer-readable medium aslong as it is capable of being accessed by respective processing devices108 and 112, including random access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory(“ROM”), erasable programmable ROM (“EPROM”) or electrically EPROM(“EEPROM”), CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical disk storage, solid statedrive (“SSD”), magnetic disk storage, including floppy or hard drives,any type of non-volatile memories, such as secure digital (“SD”), flashmemory, memory stick, or any other medium, in existence now orhereafter, that may be used to carry or store computer program code inthe form of computer-executable programs, instructions, or data. Each ofprocessing devices 108 and 112 may also include a portion of memoryaccessible only to the processing device, commonly referred to as“cache.”

Each of memories 110 and 114 comprises computer-executable program codeor instructions that when executed by the respective processing deviceperform one or more steps of the processes described in more detailbelow and as shown in the attached figures. Additionally, when executedby the respective processing device, the computer-executable programcode or instructions display one or more of the exemplary graphical userinterfaces described below and shown in the attached figures. Each ofmemories 110 and 114 may also comprise one or more data structures forstoring information. The computer-executable program code orinstructions in this scenario, as should be known to those skilled inthe art, usually include one or more application programs, other programmodules, program data, firmware, and/or an operating system.Computer-executable program code or instructions may also be storedwithin the cache of processing devices 108 and 112.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary process for group collaboration inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The processinvolves the actions of a first user tasked with the administration of afirst group (“Group A”) and the actions of a second user tasked with theadministration of a second group (“Group B”). Referring additionally toFIG. 1, the actions performed by the first user are effected by computer102, while the actions performed by the second user are effected bycomputer 118. As explained below, server 104 accomplishes certain tasks,as well. Those of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that allthe actions described below may be performed by a single computer orserver. That is, it should be understood that either computer 102 orserver 104 may carry out all the actions described below. Additionally,side 200 of FIG. 2 represents some of the actions performed by the firstuser, while side 202 represents some of the actions performed by thesecond user. Reference is also made to FIGS. 3 through 18 throughout thefollowing description of the actions performed by each user in order toprovide examples of a graphical user interface (“GUI”) configured tofacilitate each action.

At step 206, the first user (also referred to as “Group A Owner”) logsinto system 100, which may include logging into and being authenticatedby a webpage configured for use by the first user and hosted by server104. The first user then searches for another group. This may beaccomplished by searching for the other group using a search engine atstep 208 or by browsing for another group using a group directory atstep 210.

FIG. 3 (which includes and extends across FIGS. 3A and 3B) illustratesan exemplary GUI 300 displaying the results of a search performed toidentify possible groups with which to collaborate. GUI 300 comprises aresults area 302 setting forth the members or groups corresponding tothe search performed by the first user. The results area 302 comprisesat least one result 304 that identifies a member or group. Eachindividual result 304 comprises one or more buttons or hyperlinks, whichallow the first user to join a group (via hyperlink 306), start aconversation with the user or group owner represented by the result (viahyperlink 308) or invite the member or group to collaborate (viahyperlink 310). In this embodiment, the user has narrowed the results ofthe search to groups only by selecting a group selection area 312.Additionally, the user may perform another search for other groups byentering the applicable search terms into a search box 314 andactivating a search button 316.

In this example, the first user locates the group administered by thesecond user (also referred to as “Group B Owner”). At step 212, system100 displays Group B's main page to the first user via computer 102. Inthis regard, FIG. 4A (which includes and extends across FIGS. 4A-1 and4A-2) illustrates an exemplary GUI 400 for displaying a webpageassociated with a specific group. GUI 400 may be accessed in a number ofways. For example, the GUI 400 associated with a specific group may beaccessed when the corresponding group result 304 is selected from searchresults area 302 of FIG. 3 or selected from the group director at step210. GUI 400 provides information about the selected group, such asidentifying its members in a member list area 402, setting forth therecent discussions made by the group in a group discussion area 404, anddisplaying the name and other information about the group in a groupinformation area 406. GUI 400 may comprise other areas, such as aninvitation or project request area 408 where the group may request othermembers or groups to participate in a project or collaboration group.GUI 400 also includes hyperlinks or buttons 306, 308, and 310, asdescribed above.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary GUI 408 configured to allow a usertasked with administration of a group to configure or change the group'ssettings. GUI 408 comprises a name box 410, a description box 412, atype selection radio group 414, a group category dropdown 416, acollaboration setting 418, and a save button 420. The user may changethe title of the group using name box 410 and may change the descriptionof the group by using description box 412. Using type selection radiogroup 414, the user can decide whether the group is public or private.That is, the user may select whether the group is “open membership”(allowing any user registered with system 100 to join the group),“closed membership” (allowing any registered user to view the group butrequiring each user to be approved before joining the group), or“private” (preventing any users other than members of the group toaccess the group page and requiring each user to be approved beforejoining the group) via radio group 414. The user may assign the group toa category by selecting an applicable category from category dropdown416. Categories allow a user to organize a collaboration group by topic,such as “animal preservation,” corresponding or relating to a topic orinterest of the collaboration group. In a preferred embodiment, the usercan decide whether the group is available to collaborate with othergroups and/or users in a collaboration group or project by selectingcollaboration setting 418. Any changes the user makes to the group'ssettings or profile are saved when the user activates save button 420.

At step 212, system 100 presents the first user with hyperlink 310(FIGS. 3 and 4) labeled “Invite to Collaborate.” In order to invite thesecond group to participate in a collaboration group or project, thefirst user activates hyperlink 310 using computer 102 via either GUI 300or 400. At step 214, system 100 presents a form configured to allow thefirst user to provide details to the second group regarding the natureof the requested collaboration. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates anexemplary GUI 500 for inviting a group to join a collaboration group.GUI 500 comprises a group selection box 502, a collaboration selectionarea 504, a message area 506, and an activation button 508.Collaboration selection area 504 comprises a collaboration titlefreeform text box 510 and a collaboration selection dropdown 512. Thecollaboration selection dropdown 512 contains a list of projects thatmay be of interest to both parties. When a user activates hyperlink 310(FIGS. 3 and 4), GUI 500 is displayed. The user selects a group forwhich the user is responsible that is to participate in thecollaboration using group selection box 502. For instance, “My Group A”is a group for which the user accessing GUI 500 is responsible, asillustrated in FIG. 5. The first user then selects a collaborationgroup/project using collaboration selection area 504. That is, if thefirst user desires to create a new collaboration group or project, theuser provides a title for the collaboration group/project incollaboration title freeform text box 510. Otherwise, the first userselects a preexisting collaboration group/project using collaborationselection dropdown 512. The first user then provides any additionalinformation to be sent to the second group using message area 506. OnceGUI 500 is complete, the first user selects activation button 508 atstep 214.

Depending on the first user's configuration, other exemplary GUIs may bepresented to the user in place of GUI 500. For instance, if the firstuser is not currently an administrator for any group, GUI 600 (FIG. 6)is presented to the user. For this reason, GUI 600 does not includegroup selection box 502 (FIG. 5). If the first user is a member or adminof a group but is not currently participating in any collaborationgroups or projects, GUI 700 (FIG. 7) is presented to the user. For thisreason, GUI 700 does not include collaboration selection dropdown 512.It should be understood that the first user still has the ability tocreate a collaboration group or project using collaboration titlefreeform text box 510. If the first user is currently neither part of agroup nor participating in any collaboration groups or projects, system100 presents GUI 800 (FIG. 8) to the first user via computer 102.

In another embodiment, the form presented by system 100 and configuredto allow the first user to invite another group to participate in acollaboration group or project is configured to allow the user to definea collaboration space. Referring to FIG. 9, for instance, GUI 900comprises areas 502 and 506 and button 508 as described above withrespect to FIG. 5. However, GUI 900 further comprises a templateselection area 902 configured to allow the first user to define acollaboration space. A previous selection area 904 of GUI 900 allows theuser to select from preexisting templates or collaboration spaces withwhich the first user has previously been associated. A new selectionarea 906 allows the user to define a new template or collaborationspace. The first user may supply a name for the new collaboration spaceusing a title textbox 908. FIG. 10 illustrates a GUI 1000 similar to GUI900 but demonstrating the selection of new selection area 906.

FIG. 11 illustrates a GUI 1100 presented by system 100 informing thefirst user that the invitation described above has been transmitted tothe second group.

At step 216, system 100 sends the collaboration invitation via computer118, for example, to the second user tasked with administration of theidentified group, i.e., the Group B Owner. The invitation includes thedetails regarding the nature of the requested collaboration as explainedabove. At step 218, Group B Owner receives the collaboration invitationand decides whether to accept the invitation. Referring to FIG. 12, forexample, a GUI 1200 is presented to the second user. GUI 1200 isconfigured to present any pending invitations directed to the seconduser. In this example, for instance, multiple invitations 1202, 1204,and 1206 are presented to the second user, although it should beunderstood that the second user may not be presented with anyinvitations or may be presented with a single invitation when using GUI1200.

Each of invitations 1202, 1204, and 1206 comprises a sender section1208, a recipient section 1210, an invitation section 1212, a messagesection 1214, an accept button 1216, and a decline button 1218. Sendersection 1208 identifies the user and/or the group from which theinvitation originated. The recipient section 1210 identifies the userand/or group to which the invitation was directed, which will generallybe the second user or a group administered by the second user.Invitation section 1214 indicates that the invitation is to requestparticipation in a collaboration group or project and identifies thename of the group or project. Message section 1214 sets forth anymessage created by system 100 and/or created or modified by the firstuser, thereby providing the second user with information about theinvitation and/or the desired collaboration group or project. The seconduser may accept an invitation by selecting accept button 1216 or maydecline an invitation by selecting decline button 1218.

If the second owner declines the invitation at step 218, process flowproceeds to step 220. In one embodiment, system 100 presents the secondowner with a form configured to allow the second user to send a messageto the first user explaining why the invitation to collaborate was notaccepted. Referring to FIG. 13, for instance, a GUI 1300 is configuredto provide the second user with the ability to explain the rationale orprovide a reason the invitation from the first user was declined. GUI1300 comprises a reason dropdown box 1302, a reason text area 1304, anda send button 1306. Reason dropdown box 1302 allows the second user toselect a predefined reason or a category of reason why the invitationwas declined. For instance, dropdown box 1302 may include reasons therecipient group is unable to collaborate, such as the teacher orstudents within the group are engaged in a foreign exchange program orsabbatical and are out of the country. Reason text area 1304 allows thesecond user to create a message to the first user explaining therationale or reason the invitation was declined. Activation of sendbutton 1306 transmits the information contained within GUI 1300 to thefirst user as described in more detail below.

If the second user decides to send the message, system 100 transmits themessage to the first user at step 222. If so, the first user receivesthe message containing an explanation of why the invitation tocollaborate was declined and the process terminates at step 222.

If the second user accepts the invitation at step 218 by selectingaccept button 1216 (FIG. 12), process flow proceeds to step 224, wheresystem 100 generates a new collaboration group. System 100 makes thefirst and second users co-owners of the new collaboration group andsends a message to each owner confirming the creation of the group andproviding a hyperlink to the new collaboration group. At step 226,system 100 also sends messages to each of the new collaboration group'smembers containing a link to the new collaboration group. Additionally,system 100 adds the new group to each owners' and members' “My Groups”roster, so that each user can keep track of the collaboration group orproject. Referring to FIG. 14, for instance, a GUI 1400 is configured toprovide the first and second users with the information described above.GUI 1400 comprises a message 1402 that includes a hyperlink 1404 to thenewly created collaboration space, as well as one or more hyperlinks1406 to help the co-owners get started. For instance, these links may beconfigured to navigate the users to webpages or documents established tofacilitate creation and activation of the collaboration group. That is,the links may direct the users to a collaboration instruction guide, toa collaboration group frequently asked questions list, or to a help areaor forum.

At step 228, the first user is able to invite additional members to thenew collaboration group via computer 102. At step 230, the second useris likewise able to invite additional members to the new collaborationgroup via computer 118. Process flow then proceeds to step 240 wheresystem 100 is configured to allow the groups (Group A and Group B) tocollaborate.

FIG. 15 (which includes and extends across FIGS. 15A and 15B)illustrates an exemplary GUI 1500 configured to facilitate collaborationby the groups within the new collaboration group or project. GUI 1500comprises a title bar 1502, a synopsis area 1504, a group identificationarea 1506, a functional selection area 1508, a discussion area 1510, anda member identification area 1512. Title bar 1502 indicates the name ofthe collaboration group or project, while synopsis area 1504 provides abrief overview of the goal or objective of the group or project. Groupidentification area 1506 identifies the groups that are members of thecollaboration group or project. Functional selection area 1508 allowsmembers of the group to navigate to other sections of the project spacein order to utilize other technology, such as blogs and wikis, and toupload multimedia, such as photographs and videos, or documents andother material for use by members of the group/project. Discussion area1510 reflects an ongoing discussion by the members of the group, andmember identification area 1512 identifies the current members of thecollaboration group or project.

It should be understood that GUI 1500 may include additional components,such as locations 1514 and 1516 configured to present and displayadvertisements to the users. GUI 1500 may further comprise a search box1518 in order to allow a user to search for other members, groups,collaboration groups, projects, or other components of system 100. GUI1500 may also comprise hyperlinks 1520 and 1522. Hyperlink 1520 isconfigured to allow a user to save the current configuration of thecollaboration space, while hyperlink 1522 is configured to navigate theuser to a portion of system 100 where the user can post a request for anitem, service, information, or other material. If the current user is aco-owner of the collaboration group, hyperlink 1524 becomes accessible.Hyperlink 1524 allows the co-owner of the collaboration group to editthe settings and configurations for the project space, as describedbelow. As should be appreciated, GUI 1500 may comprise additionalcomponents, such as a taskbar 1526 providing the user with access toother aspects of system 100.

FIG. 16 illustrates a GUI 1600 configured to allow each co-owner of aproject space to edit the space's settings. In this embodiment, GUI 1600is accessed when the co-owner activates hyperlink 1524 (FIG. 15). GUI1600 comprises a title box 1602, a text box 1604, type selection radiobuttons 1606, a category selection 1608, a collaboration setting 1610, aclose box 1612, and a save button 1614. The co-owner may change thetitle of the collaboration project using title box 1602 or thesynopsis/description of the project using text box 1604. Using typeselection radio buttons 1606, the co-owner can determine whether thecollaboration group or project is “open participation” (allowing anymember of system 100 to participate in the collaboration group), “closedparticipation” (allowing any member of system 100 to view the group orproject but requiring each member to be approved before participating),or “private” (allowing only members that are already part of thecollaboration group or project to participate). Category selection 1608allows the co-owner to assign the project space to a category fororganization purposes, as explained above. Collaboration setting 1610allows the co-owner to select whether the collaboration group or projectis also available for collaboration with other groups or projects.Either co-owner may close the collaboration group or project byselecting close box 1612. After making any changes or modificationsdescribed above, the co-owner saves the changes and settings byactivating save button 1614. GUI 1600 comprises other components similarto those described above with respect to GUI 1500 of FIG. 15.

The description that follows provides a specific example of the use ofsystem 100 in order to collaborate in an educational context. SallySmith is a ninth grade biology teacher in Louisiana who has an onlinesocial networking-style group for each of her six classes. Each of herstudents is a member of their period's class group, and Ms. Smith is theowner of each group. Ms. Smith is interested in finding another biologyclass in a different part of the country with whom her class cancollaborate on a project around local habitats. Through her search, shediscovers Mr. Sanchez's ninth grade biology class in Oregon. By viewingthe content on Mr. Sanchez's class's group page, she sees that they tooare interested in studying local habitats. Ms. Smith sends an invitationto Mr. Sanchez, in order to let him know of her interest in forming acollaboration group with his class. Mr. Sanchez sees the value in suchcollaboration but does not want outside students added to his classroomgroup. He feels this would be inappropriate for many reasons, such aswhether it is a potential security violation against his own school'sInternet use policy. However, in the presently-described embodiment, ifMr. Sanchez accepts the invitation, no members would be added to hisgroup or to his school's system, but rather, a new collaboration groupwould be created purely for the purpose of this collaboration.Accordingly, Mr. Sanchez accepts Ms. Smith's invitation. System 100sends both teachers a message welcoming them into their newcollaboration group. Next, both teachers activate the hyperlink in theirrespective message and are directed to their new collaboration group bysystem 100. Both teachers are listed as co-owners of the new group,which has the name of the “Local Habitats Project,” as suggested by Ms.Smith in the invitation. Additionally, the students from the teachers'respective classes are also now part of the new group. However, thestudents are identified as members of the new collaboration group, notas owners. Both classrooms and groups in their respective systemsremained unchanged. That is, Ms. Smith's class and Mr. Sanchez's classon their respective school systems remain unchanged. The homepage orlog-in screen configured for use by Mr. Sanchez now includes the “LocalHabitats Project” group listed in his “My Groups” area alongside hisoriginal class group and all of the other groups he had already been apart of.

The description that follows provides a specific example of the use ofsystem 100 in order to collaborate in a social networking context. Twohypothetical “environmentally focused” groups on a social networkingsite—the DC Greens group and the Northern Virginians for Clean Air(“NVCA”) group—are both interested in similar causes. The DC Greensleader and group owner, Sarah, wants to promote an awareness campaign inthe nation's capital called “Get On Board” to encourage area residentsto take public transportation. She realizes that her group alone is notenough to pull off a campaign as large as what she has envisioned. Sheneeds help and wants to look for other local like-minded groups to help.She searches the social networking website and finds the NVCA group. Inthis example, NVCA is a far larger group than the DC Greens. Thisconcerns Sarah, because she does not want to be overwhelmed or to losecontrol of her idea or group. Upon further investigation, Sarah seesthat by inviting NVCA to collaborate she would not be required to inviteall its members to join her DC Greens relatively smaller group. Sherealizes that, instead, she can create a new collaboration group justfor this collaboration. Accordingly, she invites the NVCA group to thecollaboration group by activating the “Invite to collaborate” hyperlinkdescribed above. She includes a description of what she hopes toaccomplish and sends the invitation. System 100 transmits a message tothe NVCA group owner, Paul. In this example, Paul has been thinking thatthe DC area needs a campaign like the “Get On Board” campaign, so heaccepts the invitation. Upon Paul's acceptance, the social networkingsystem creates the “Get On Board” group or project, identifying bothSarah and Paul as the group owners. Sarah and Paul then connect throughon-site messaging to discuss their plans and strategy for adding membersof their existing groups to the new collaboration group. It should beunderstood that Paul and Sarah may invite individual members from theirrespective groups at this time or may invite their entire respectivegroups. It should be further understood that, regardless of whichmembers join the new collaborative group, the original groups remainunchanged.

Once the “Get On Board” campaign has been completed, Sarah and Pauldecide that they would like to dissolve the “Get On Board” group, whichthey do using system 100. Sarah and Paul continue to administer/own theDC Greens and NVCA groups, respectively. All the members of the originalgroups that became members of the “Get On Board” group remain as membersof those original groups.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary GUI for creating a group. In theProject Collaboration area of the GUI, the group creator may select theradio button labeled “Yes” to enable the group to participate incollaborations or collaboration groups. Otherwise, the group creator mayselect the “No” option so that the group is not available forcollaboration. Activating the checkbox labeled “Advanced Options”navigates the group creator to the exemplary GUI illustrated by FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary GUI presented when the “AdvancedOptions” checkbox is selected using the GUI described above with respectto FIG. 17. Selecting the “All Projects” radio button under the “ProjectGroup Collaboration Options” via the GUI enables the group tocollaborate on all projects in the system. Alternatively, selecting the“Only Selected Projects” radio button enables the group creator toselect which projects associated with the creator and/or the group thatthe group will be able to collaborate. Selecting this radio buttoncauses the exemplary GUI illustrated by FIG. 19 to be presented to thegroup creator.

Referring to FIG. 19, once the “Only Selected Projects” radio button isselected, the GUI presents a checkbox, a title, and a “learn more”hyperlink for each identified project. The title identifies thecorresponding project, while selecting the associated checkbox enablesthe group to collaborate with respect to the project. Hovering the mousepointer and/or selecting the “learn more” hyperlink causes the GUI topresent additional information corresponding to the identified projectto the user. The additional information may be presented by any mannerunderstood by those in the art, such as a pop-up box or by navigating toa different webpage.

It should be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art that theabove description discloses a process for group collaboration in aneducational or social networking environment that does not impair orcompromise the structure or organization of the original or underlyinggroups. It should be further understood that other methods of groupcollaboration or sequences of actions for group collaboration arecontemplated by the process described above without departing from thescope of the present invention. For instance, a collaborative group maybe initiated or established prior to requesting preexisting groups tojoin the collaboration group. Alternatively, one group may establish acollaborative group and then request other groups to join. Oncedissolved, the collaborative group does not affect or compromise thestructure of the original groups, which remain intact.

While one or more preferred embodiments of the invention have beendescribed above, it should be understood that any and all equivalentrealizations of the present invention are included within the scope andspirit thereof. The embodiments depicted are presented by way of exampleonly and are not intended as limitations upon the present invention.Thus, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in this artthat the present invention is not limited to these embodiments sincemodifications can be made. Therefore, it is contemplated that any andall such embodiments are included in the present invention as may fallwithin the scope and spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for facilitating collaboration by afirst group comprising at least two members and a second groupcomprising at least two members, the method comprising the steps of:creating a collaboration group based at least in part on a requestrelated to the first group, wherein a processing device stores datarepresentative of the collaboration group in a memory operativelyconnected to the processing device; linking the first group of at leasttwo members to the collaboration group based at least in part on therequest, wherein the processing device stores data in the memoryrepresentative of the link between the first group and the collaborationgroup; linking the second group of at least two members to thecollaboration group, wherein the processing device stores data in thememory representative of the link between the second group and thecollaboration group in the memory; facilitating collaboration by thefirst and second groups, wherein a first structure of the first groupremains unchanged by the collaboration and a second structure of thesecond group remains unchanged by the collaboration, wherein the firstgroup is created to comprise one or more members and at least a firstowner, and the second group is created to comprise one or more othermembers and at least a second owner; and notifying the second owner ofan invitation from the first owner to join the collaboration group,wherein the linking of the second group to the collaboration group isbased at least in part on the notifying or on an indicated acceptance ofthe invitation by the second owner.
 2. A method for facilitatingcollaboration by a first group comprising at least two members and asecond group comprising at least two members, the method comprising thesteps of: creating a collaboration group based at least in part on arequest related to the first group, wherein a processing device storesdata representative of the collaboration group in a memory operativelyconnected to the processing device; linking the first group of at leasttwo members to the collaboration group based at least in part on therequest, wherein the processing device stores data in the memoryrepresentative of the link between the first group and the collaborationgroup; linking the second group of at least two members to thecollaboration group, wherein the processing device stores data in thememory representative of the link between the second group and thecollaboration group in the memory; and facilitating collaboration by thefirst and second groups, wherein a first structure of the first groupremains unchanged by the collaboration and a second structure of thesecond group remains unchanged by the collaboration, wherein the firstgroup is created to comprise one or more members and at least a firstowner, and the second group is created to comprise one or more othermembers and at least a second owner, and wherein the creating of thecollaboration group comprises setting the first owner and the secondowner as co-owners of the collaboration group.
 3. A method forfacilitating collaboration by a first group comprising at least twomembers and a second group comprising at least two members, the methodcomprising the steps of: creating a collaboration group based at leastin part on a request related to the first group, wherein a processingdevice stores data representative of the collaboration group in a memoryoperatively connected to the processing device; linking the first groupof at least two members to the collaboration group based at least inpart on the request, wherein the processing device stores data in thememory representative of the link between the first group and thecollaboration group; linking the second group of at least two members tothe collaboration group, wherein the processing device stores data inthe memory representative of the link between the second group and thecollaboration group in the memory; and facilitating collaboration by thefirst and second groups, wherein a first structure of the first groupremains unchanged by the collaboration and a second structure of thesecond group remains unchanged by the collaboration, wherein thecreating of the collaboration group further comprises sending a messageto each of the at least two members in the first group and each of theat least two members in the second group including a link related to thecollaboration group.